The Other Side
by Azure Butterfly
Summary: When Ash, a rookie trainer, and his Pikachu fall into a mysterious tunnel, they find themselves in a strange world where Pokemon are in charge and people are almost nonexistant. Will the two ever find a way back? TF, Pikashipping
1. Chapter 1

It started out like any other day. Namely, Brock making breakfast, Ash rushing off to go battle someone, and Misty…

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" The Electric-type happily obeyed, shooting a blast of electricity at the opponent's Graveler.

"Ash!" Misty screamed. "That's a Ground-type! Why are you using Thunderbolt? Don't you have any other attacks? You always use Thunderbolt! You can't always win by dumb luck, you know! You have to learn sometime!" Her ranting was cut short as the Graveler fell to the ground, defeated in one hit. Pikachu stood over the Rock-type with a proud look in her eyes. "I'm not even going to bother with this," Misty muttered, shuffling back to the camp as the defeated Hiker recalled his Pokémon.

"Good job, Pikachu!" Ash cheered as the Hiker walked away dejectedly. "I knew you could do it!" Pikachu laughed nervously as her trainer continued to praise her on a job well done. She never really saw what was so hard about shocking the tar out of things, but if Ash wanted to shout encouragement at her, well, she guessed that was okay.

Ash suddenly stopped his excited stream of encouragement and focused his gaze somewhere behind Pikachu. She sighed and turned around to see what had caught his attention, only for her own mouth to drop open. A strange, blue Pokémon was walking through the grass, as though it were unaware that it was not supposed to appear in front of a rookie trainer without good reason. It was a rather vivid shade of blue, with the exception of its dark grey feet and ears. Its eyes were deep red, and silver spikes stuck out of its arms. Ash pulled out his Pokédex and gleefully pointed it at the creature, only to receive a rather negative message. Pokémon not found," the Pokédex bleeped. Ash frowned and hammered on the buttons, only for the screen to go blank. The boy frowned and chucked it back in his bag.

"Pikachu!" he chirped. "We're going to catch it!" He pulled a Poké Ball off of his belt and enlarged it to full size. The tiny Pokémon, which had been biting a rather tall blade of grass, suddenly seemed to notice the pair. Upon seeing the Poké Ball in Ash's hand, its eyes grew wide and it took off running. "Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Ash instructed. Pikachu began to chase after the tiny Pokémon – only for it to disappear without a trace!

Pikachu looked around the field wildly until she caught sight of a small, blue tail disappearing into a crevice at the base of a tall tree. She turned around and waved to let Ash know what she was doing, then darted into the opening. Almost immediately, she realized that something was wrong. The tunnel under her feet felt cold and hard, not soft like dirt should be. She continued into the tunnel for a few more feet, and suddenly the ground beneath her feet gave way.

"_Ash!"_ she screamed in desperation. _"Help! I'm falling! It's Team Rocket again!"_ Back at the tree, the ten-year-old heard her cries and jumped into action. Literally – he hit his head on a low-lying tree branch, springing into action. He couldn't understand Pikachu perfectly, but he knew that she had said something about Team Rocket – and there was no way he was going back to the camp to get the rest of his Pokémon when Pikachu was in danger.

"Don't worry, Pikachu!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "I'm coming!" He threw himself down on the ground, worming his way through the tiny tunnel. After a few seconds, he found that he was… well, completely stuck. His arms were pinned to his sides, and he couldn't move frontwards or backwards. Pikachu was still crying out in front of him, each of her cries getting fainter and fainter. "Pikachu!" Ash growled, kicking his legs frantically in an attempt to get to his starter Pokémon. To his surprise, he started to move through the tunnel far easier than before! The tunnel seemed to widen dramatically, and the boy triumphantly made his way through the tunnel to his beloved Pikachu.

Then he fell into the same pit that Pikachu had.

"Pikachu!" Ash screamed, flailing wildly as he tumbled through space. The tunnel was pitch black, and the new Pokémon trainer wasn't entirely sure which was was up and which was down. Before he could summon the strength to shout for Pikachu again, he found that he had come to a complete stop, just as quickly as he had fallen. He could feel the ground under his feet, and could see a faint light a few feet away.

"Pikachu?" he called out nervously. He tottered over to the light on unsteady legs, and found himself in a spacious cavern. It was a huge, dome-shaped area with translucent blue walls. However, Ash was not looking at the strange structure. Rather, he was looking at what was in the middle of the room – namely, a giant Pikachu.

"Aaaaah!" Ash screamed, pressing himself up against the glowing blue wall.

"_Aaaaah!" _Pikachu shrieked back. Noticing her trainer's terror, she quickly swallowed her feelings of shock and tried to talk to him. _"Um, Ash? Why are you my size now?"_

Unfortunately, Pikachu had overlooked one important detail – while Ash might have been Pikachu-sized, he still didn't understand their language. The young boy's eyes seemed to light up, though, when he recognized Pikachu as his own Pikachu. "Pikachu!" he chirped happily, rushing forwards to hug the yellow Pokémon. "It is you! You're safe!" Pikachu blushed as he joyfully wrapped his arms around her. There was something nice about being the same height as him, she thought…

"_A-ash? How did you…" _Pikachu stuttered, blushing furiously under her fur for some reason.

"Yeah?" the boy asked.

"_Are you…"_ Pikachu's voice trailed off. She stepped back from Ash, eyes wide as dinner plates.

"What's wrong?" Ash questioned. In response, Pikachu flicked her ears. "What is it?" Ash asked again, repeating the motion. Then it suddenly hit him. He had just… flicked his ears? Like Pikachu. Out of instinct, his hands flew to the side of his head. His ears were… gone! The sides of his head were completely blank. But he could still hear…

Being Ash, Pikachu knew that it would probably take him a while to figure out on his own, so she decided to help him. _"Your ears, Ash! They're on top of your head! You – you have Pikachu ears!"_

Ash gave a tiny little squeak and threw his hands to the top of his head. Instead of his hair or his hat, he could feel two long, furry ears lying flat against his head! _"Oh no!" _he squeaked. _"I'll have to cut holes in my hat! Otherwise it'll fall off!"_

Pikachu sighed as her trainer grabbed at his ears hysterically. After a few seconds, he stopped grabbing his ears in favor of holding his nose in apparent pain.

"_Ow! Ow! My nose feels funny! Pikachu!"_ Pikachu sighed and pulled her trainer's hands away, gently holding them away from his face. Tears began to well up in his eyes.

"_Stop struggling!" _Pikachu told him worriedly. _"There's something about this place that must be causing you to turn into a Pikachu!"_ Ash whimpered as Pikachu looked over him nervously. He was Pikachu height, and his ears flicked nervously as he tried to grab his nose. Pikachu suddenly realized that Ash was not speaking in human anymore, and his nose was quickly changing shape. The tip of it was black, while the rest of his face was quickly being consumed by yellow fur. Pikachu reluctantly let go of the boy, but he made no attempt to grab at his face anymore. He was more concerned with other matters.

"_Where'd my hat go? Did it fall off, or-"_ Pikachu cut him off, grabbing Ash's prized article of clothing off of the ground, a few feet away. The young boy sighed in relief as he jammed it back on his head, on top of his ears. By now, his entire body was covered in fur. Pikachu suddenly realized just how cute her trainer was… no! Not that again! He was a human! Not a Pikachu! She wasn't supposed to think he was cute!

Then Ash fell over with a surprised squeal as his legs and feet changed shape. His shoes disappeared without warning, leaving him staring at his oversized, three-toed feet. Pikachu giggled, blushing like crazy. He… was… really adorable.

"_Pikachu…"_ Ash said in an embarrassed tone of voice.

"_What is it?"_ she asked him.

"_Urm… um… tail?"_ he gasped out.

"_Oh… eh…"_ Pikachu laughed nervously. _"Well…"_ Her train of thought was stopped as a huge cloud of yellow smoke filled the room. When it cleared, Pikachu found herself looking at a completely normal Pikachu. Well, a Pikachu wearing a hat.

"_My clothes are gone!"_ Ash squeaked, looking down at his furry body in shock. _"Pikachu! Where are my __**clothes?**_"

Pikachu sighed. _"You don't need clothes! You're a Pokémon, Ash! You have fur!"_

"_Oh… right,"_ Ash said, as though he had realized that right from the get-go. _"Well, we'd better find a way to change me back to normal! I can't be a Pokémon Master if I'm a Pokémon myself!"_ The ten-year-old took a confident step forward, only to trip over his own tail and fall flat on his face.

Pikachu giggled at her trainer's own ineptitude. _"Well… I guess we'll have to get out of here first…" _She glanced around the room and caught sight of something she hadn't noticed before – another opening leading upwards. _"There!" _she shouted, pointing it out. _"That should get us out of here!"_

Ash did not answer. When Pikachu looked back, she quickly realized why. His cheeks were sparking like crazy as he flailed around trying to make them stop. _"Ash, you've just built up a lot of electricity. Aim at one of the walls and focus on sending it out."_ Ash instead stumbled onto his back, sending bolts of lightning every which way as he squealed in fright.

"… _I can see we're going to need work on that,"_ Pikachu sighed. _"Well… come on. We need to get out of here, that's for sure."_ The boy struggled to his feet and nodded, tottering over to his partner on unsteady feet. After a few moments of trying not to trip over his tail, Ash seemed to realize what was wrong. With an embarrassed look on his face, he dropped onto all fours and bounded over to Pikachu. She giggled and lead the way out of the mysterious room.


	2. Chapter 2

The duo made their way through the long, twisty tunnel, stopping every so often to choose between two forks in the path. A couple of times, Ash ended up running off down some other path in order to investigate a sound that he had heard. After dragging him back, Pikachu would attempt to find a way back to the path she had been traveling before, only to realize that she was in a completely unknown part of the tunnel. She was beginning to realize why Misty shouted at Ash so much.

"Hey!" Ash chirped, his ears perking up. "Did you hear that, Pikachu?" Before she had a chance to answer, the boy bounded off, lighting up the path with excited sparks of electricity.

"Ash!" Pikachu shouted. "Get back here! You're going to get lost and then we'll never get out of here! You'll get hungry and then you'll be sorry!" However, her trainer was already too far away to answer. Pikachu sighed and began to follow the path of glowing lights to her excitable trainer.

"Pikachu!" his voice suddenly called out. "I've found a way out! And there's someone here!" Pikachu dashed the rest of the way to her trainer. Knowing him, the "someone" could turn out to be an extremely vicious Aerodactyl that would eat him as soon as look at him. She shot forward, full speed, until a sudden light assaulted her eyes. She tripped over her own feet, rolled forwards like a tiny yellow tire, and did not stop until she slammed into something hard and vaguely soft.

Groaning and rolling over onto her back, Pikachu cursed her luck. So far, she had failed to catch a strange Pokémon for Ash, fallen into a deep, dark tunnel, watched helplessly as her trainer was transformed into a Pikachu for no particular reason, and now she had just ran straight into a rock at full speed!

… a small, furry, yellow rock.

"Ash!" Pikachu squealed in terror, forgetting about her own pain. "Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Her trainer lay with his back up against a tree some ten feet away, with a huge patch of exposed dirt to show that he had skidded all the way there. He was upside-down, and his feet and tail were hanging limply over his head. As Pikachu ran over to his side, he groaned and muttered something about being the greatest Pokémon Master in the whole entire world.

Pikachu sighed and gently pulled the boy into a normal, sitting position. Well, normal for a Pikachu. Ash's eyes flickered, and for a moment, Pikachu thought that he was going to say something. Then he fell over onto the grass and began to snore.

Shaking her head, Pikachu began to examine her surroundings more closely. They were in some sort of forest, but it was different from the forest where the rest of the group was currently at. There was a smell in the air – something like flowers. After a few moments, Pikachu realized that the air smelled cleaner here. She walked over to a nearby flower curiously and sniffed it. It smelled nicer than the flowers she was used to. What sort of place was this? Maybe this place wasn't as polluted as the heavily populated area at the other end of that long, confusing tunnel.

That was to say… maybe this wasn't even the same world as the one they had come from. Pikachu shuddered at the thought. She had to get Ash back to normal so he could achieve his dream!

In his sleep, the boy drooled. His legs twitched as though he were attempting to chase something – probably a new Pokémon, Pikachu decided.

Maybe it was a good thing the little runt was going to have a short break from training.

"Waaa!"

Pikachu jumped as a sudden shouted pierced through the forest. Moments later, a blue streak sped into the clearing. "Hey!" Pikachu shouted. "What are you?"

The blur stopped and Pikachu recognized it as the blue Pokémon that had led them down the tunnel! "Oh!" he said in surprise. "Where'd you come from?" Before Pikachu could answer, the blue Pokémon looked down at his wrist, where something silver and bulky hung. "I'm late!" the Pokémon shouted. "I can't miss this!"

"What's going on?" a third voice suddenly chimed in, albeit groggily. Pikachu happily swung her head around to see her beloved trainer pulling himself to his feet and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. As soon as he caught sight of the newcomer, Ash's eyes widened angrily. "Hey! It's that Pokémon that led us here!" Before the tiny blue Pokémon had a chance to get a word in, Ash had rushed him, tackled him to the ground, and glared at him, nose-to-nose.

"Waaa!" the Pokémon shouted again. "Please don't hurt me! I'm just an innocent Riolu! I have to get back to the city before nightfall so I can deliver something!"

"Ash!" Pikachu snapped, shocked. "Stop pinning him down like that!" Ash blinked, and began to blush as he realized what he was doing to the poor Riolu. He rolled off, gave a quiet little "sorry!" under his breath, and promptly hid behind Pikachu.

Riolu gasped, still terrified of the 'Pikachu' that had pinned him down. He looked at Pikachu with fearful red eyes. When he realized that he wasn't going to be attacked, he started to speak again. "I was up in the other place, gathering flowers for Master Grovyle when I was attacked by one of the scary humans! I managed to escape, but… hey!" Riolu stumbled back a few feet. "You're the one who was attacking me! You were one of the scary human's Pokémon servants!" Tears began to well up in Riolu's eyes as he realized that he wouldn't be able to escape from the duo.

"We won't attack you!" Ash cut in. "I promise! I had never seen something like you before!" Pikachu began to realize where Ash was going with this and started to frantically wave her paws in an attempt to call him off. However, her trainer was far too focused on Riolu to notice her. "I tried to get Pikachu to stop you so I could capture you! Then Professor Oak would have been able to get information on you and-"

Pikachu slapped a paw over his mouth.

"You're the human?" Riolu asked in a strange tone of voice.

"No!" Pikachu shouted.

"Mnph!" Ash yelled into Pikachu's paw.

Riolu looked back and forth between the two Pikachu. Then, he began to laugh. "You're a human?" he asked Ash. "You don't look like a human! Why are you a Pikachu?"

"We followed you into that tunnel and ended up in a weird room," Pikachu finally admitted. "Ash started to turn into a Pikachu before I knew what was going on!"

Riolu giggled. "But… that means…."

"What?" Ash asked innocently.

Riolu burst into another fit of giggles, apparently forgetting that these two had tried to capture him only a few hours previously.

"Come on, what's so funny?" Pikachu demanded.

"Humans can't come here!" Riolu explained. "The only people that are allowed here are a few that Mew allowed in! If any other humans tried to come here, they'd be forced back to their own world!"

"Wait…" Pikachu began. "Does that mean that Ash shouldn't have been able to follow me?"

"I did get a little stuck," Ash admitted. "But I managed to get through that tunnel to save you, Pikachu!"

Riolu suddenly began to blush. "I… I should go now. Master Grovyle needs his flowers…"

"What's the matter?" Ash said obliviously.

"Erm, well… if you come to the city with me, you could ask Noctowl…" Riolu took off running before either of the Pikachu could ask any more questions. They both had no choice but to follow the strange Pokémon – so they did.


	3. Chapter 3

The trio made their way through the forest, stopping every so often as Riolu grabbed a berry or a leaf off of some random plant. The tiny blue Pokémon was already laden with enormous piles of plant matter, but when either of the Pikachu offered to help carry it, he decline, claiming that many of the plants were too fragile to be handled except by a trained professional. Other than answering the occasional question about how long it would take to get to the city he was talking about, Riolu was not very chatty. Pikachu tried to pry an answer out of him about why the two of them had ended up here, but the Fighting-type would always blush and turn his head away, suddenly becoming interested in some new plant whenever Pikachu asked.

Ash was clearly oblivious to Pikachu's annoyment at their guide. While she tried to pry information out of him, Ash was happily frolicking through the woods, occasionally biting at the odd plant here or there. A few times, Riolu batted him away from a strange flower or fern, informing him that it was rare or would make him sick. Most of the time, however, Riolu completely ignored the trainer turned Pokémon. Ash took advantage of this, pulling all the berries he could find off of the bushes and tossing them into his mouth. Pikachu growled at his rudeness until he offered her a couple.

Eventually, after hours of walking in the forest, the trio had their first sign that they were getting close to the city. Ash was jumping at a strange, fluffy plant when something streaked past him, a blue blur in the air. He screamed and ran over to Pikachu, who wrapped her tail around him protectively. Riolu did not seem to notice what had happened – he was collecting some sort of herb, as usual.

"Hey!" Pikachu shouted, still protectively standing over Ash. "Didn't you see that? Something almost grabbed Ash and made a snack out of him!"

Riolu did not bother turning around as he responded. "That's one of the Swellow who carry letters around the cities. They fly low to the ground in order to get to their destination faster. Always look up before you jump." He finished pulling leaves off the plant and darted away, forcing the Pikachu to run after him before they could ask him any more questions.

"Why did that one almost eat me?" Ash gasped, still terrified.

"It wasn't trying to eat you," Riolu snapped. "It was heading towards the city!"

"Where exactly is this city you're always going on about?" Pikachu barked right back.

Instead of answering, Riolu jumped over a fallen log and tore across the ground to the top of a tall hill. The two Pikachu followed him, a bit worn out. Riolu might have been small, but he was terrifyingly fast. The second they started up the hill, the two Electric-types began to see exactly what the Fighting-type had been talking about.

A huge, towering mass of buildings stood in front of them. However, instead of being the normal grey stone and metal of the cities in the human world, these were made out of some sort of yellowish stone. The windows were blue rather than clear, and doorways stood without any doors. The most impressive part of the city, however, was the huge forest that was literally growing on top of it. Trees and shrubs grew on the buildings' roofs, while ivy snaked across the sides. Besides the plants, an entire water system flowed on the city's top. Pools of water collected on the buildings, cascading down the sides and falling into another basin on a lower building. The water eventually reached a trough on the ground, which surrounded each and every building like a miniature moat; to get into the buildings, you had to climb onto a small wooden bridge into the structure. The water crisscrossed across the city's streets, with larger wooden bridges offering access to the other parts of the city. The entire system came together at the center of the town, where a huge moat surrounded the tallest building. The huge blue structure was made entirely of glass, unlike the other buildings' stone, and was cylindrical in shape.

"What is this place?" Pikachu gasped in wonder.

"This is the city," Riolu told them in an uninspired voice, as though it was something he saw all the time. "Formally, it's known as Cascade City, but no one bothers calling it that. It's the only civilized area for forty miles. Everyone knows what you mean by the city if you're around here."

"Are there other cities like this?" Ash questioned curiously. Riolu seemed to be surprised by the sudden question – it was fairly obvious that something about the boy put him on edge.

"Erm… well, yes. There's Boilridge to the north, and Lightningpoint further east…" Riolu's voice faded into nothing before he finished detailing the other cities. He took off for the city at a steady trot, glancing back nervously every so often. "I'll take you two to Noctowl's roost, and then I'm leaving." After saying this, Riolu seemed far calmer than before, as though reassured by the fact that he would be leaving the two behind him was a huge burden off his chest. Indeed, the Pokémon trekked across the field at a much more natural, relaxed pace, rather than the frantic one he had been using earlier.

Before long, the trio was in the outskirts of the city. A few of the water channels came all the way out to this point, wrapping themselves around a single building before heading back to downtown. Now that they were up close, Pikachu realized that a few Water-types were using the channels as roads to get to other places in the city – a strange Pokémon, orange with two cream-tipped tails and a yellow device around its neck jumped out of the water, clutching something in its mouth.

Riolu stopped suddenly, causing the others to almost slam right into him. "Right here," he told them. "Noctowl's house is over there." The blue Pokémon pointed to a short, stubby house in the distance.

Pikachu's mouth dropped wide open, and it seemed like she was going to start frying Riolu with everything she had. Riolu did not seem to know or care about her anger, and was already darting off towards town. However, he did not get very far before something huge and brown swooped down from the skies and grabbed him in its talons. Riolu struggled in its claws as it carried him back to the rest of the group. With a loud thump, Riolu and his herbs fell to the ground, headfirst, while the large brown Pokémon landed and surveyed the two Pikachu. When he saw Ash, he frowned.

"Are you Noctowl?" Ash asked excitedly.

"…yes…" the Flying-type responded in a low, rumbling voice. "You three… follow me to my home. There are matters which we must discuss…"

Ash happily trotted after the brown Pokémon, while Pikachu walked a little behind, her cheeks still sparking warily.

Riolu tottered onto his feet and struggled after the rest of the group, holding his herbs close to his pounding heart.


	4. Chapter 4

The inside of Noctowl's house was a strange mixture between a nest in the middle of a dead tree and a normal apartment building. The building itself was made of logs and mud arranged in a cylindrical pattern, but in the center of the structure, a large, high-tech computer hung from the ceiling. The entire building was one huge, open room, with ladders and stairs leading to platforms higher up. Noctowl himself was presently perched on one of these platforms, shuffling through a pile of papers on a wooden desk. Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu were playing around with some of the odd contraptions in the house – a paperweight shaped like a Rhydon, a Clefairy tea set, and a vase painted to look like a Voltorb. Meanwhile, Riolu was sulking in a corner, carefully arranging his herbs in tidy little piles.

"You… boy…" Noctowl suddenly boomed. All three of the small Pokémon jumped up in surprise and turned to look at the Flying-type. "You look like a Pikachu, but… you are… human, no?"

For some reason, neither Ash nor Pikachu wondered how the Pokémon knew this. There was something about this Pokémon – not only did he give off an air of wisdom, but a different sort of energy seem to cloak his body – psychic energy of some kind. Ash nodded slowly.

Noctowl made a strange clicking sound with his beak. "If that is indeed the case, then you are an exceptional being. In all of my years, I have never seen a human make it to this world from the one you came from. Sit down, you two. I must tell you the tale of this place." The two Pikachu sat down obediently, while Riolu started to throw his herbs around with greater force than was probably necessary.

"In the beginning, there were two worlds," Noctowl began.

* * *

There was a world where the humans lived. It was a lonely place – humankind had once lived among creatures of many kinds – "dogs, cats, fish…" – but all of these animals were gone from this world. The humans' pollution had made it impossible for anything else to survive. The only reason the humans could survive was because of their specially modified DNA. The last of the animals from the humans' planet were sent away on spaceships, to live in another planet where they could be free and never worry about the pollutants.

The humans lived alone in this world. Nothing grew there, and the humans were forced to gather energy from the sun. Eventually, the pollution started to go away, but it was too late. Nothing other than humans and creatures smaller than dust lived in the world anymore.

On the other world, however, Pokémon lived in peace with one another and the plant life of their world. That world was nearly the same as the world we live in today. Mew ruled over the land, and the rest of the legendary court served to keep the land at peace. One day, however, Mew accidently traveled to the land of the humans. She summoned the rest of the legendary council, and they began to breathe life back into what they thought was a desolate wasteland. Eventually, they found the humans – weak, struggling to hold on to life. They had given up all hope… they were completely alone.

That's when Mew opened up the door between the two worlds.

There was an agreement laid out – humans and Pokémon alike could travel between the two worlds, and dwell in whichever one they wished. However, there were still a few cruel Pokémon and people that lived in both worlds. These only wanted to create a profit, and their actions brought both worlds close to ruin. Mew was forced to close the links between the two worlds.

Many Pokémon were trapped in the human world. Before, they were able to converse with the humans. Now, however, the humans were unable to comprehend the language of the monsters. In the Pokémon world, humans were trapped without any way home, nor any way to speak to their friends. Out of pity, Mew cast a spell over this world – any human who desired to be with their Pokémon partners enough would be able to evolve into the likeness of their closest friend!

* * *

"That's it!" Pikachu said excitedly. "That's why Ash was able to follow me here!" Ash blushed as Pikachu grabbed him in a huge hug, happily nuzzling him.

"There is… more to this tale," Noctowl added. "And… I cannot guarantee that you will like it."

* * *

The doorway between the two worlds lay closed for quite some time. Mew did not wish to have bad people or Pokémon traveling between the two worlds, where they would be easy to track. Because of this, she stayed to rule the land of Pokémon, while a different Pokémon, Arceus, was sent to the world of people. For thousands of years, people and Pokémon stayed in one of the two worlds for their entire life. Eventually, the knowledge of the connections all but died out in the world of humans. Humans live their lives blissfully unaware of the fact that their ancestors came from a world of ruin – and the Pokémon came from a different world entirely!

Eventually, Mew opened the portals back up, for certain things had to be brought back here from the world of humans – plants, such as the ones that young Riolu has with him, would sometimes refuse to grow in the climate of this world. However, humans were never supposed to enter this world, because Mew forbade anyone to enter this world unless they had come from it in the first place!

* * *

"But then…" Pikachu started. "How did Ash get here?"

Noctowl glanced out the window before answering. "There is only one way for someone to enter this world from the human one. If they did not come from here themselves… tell me, boy," Noctowl began.

Ash looked at him with terrified eyes.

"Do you remember your father at all?"


	5. Chapter 5

"My… dad?" Ash asked, stupefied. "I… I never knew him at all. He left home when I was a kid, saying that he was going to beat the Pokémon League. His name appeared on a few registration sheets, but I never saw got to see him fight or anything. Mom never allowed me to watch the battles on TV if Dad was supposed to be fighting. When I turned seven, he suddenly stopped participating, as though he had disappeared off the face of the earth."

Pikachu wrapped an arm around her trainer comfortingly. Something in his eyes spoke of unmentionable fear and confusion. Noctowl sighed deeply.

"Boy… there is only one reason that you would have been able to come to this world. Your mother was human – therefore, you are as well. However, your father… must have come from this world. In other words, your father was a Pokémon in a human guise. Because of this, you no doubt have strange, unforeseen powers…"

"Wait, what?" Riolu gasped, jumping up from his sitting position. "This kid is half Pokémon and half human?"

"I'm not a Pokémon!" Ash protested. After a nervous glance in the direction of his furry yellow paws, the boy added, "well, not really."

"He is entirely human, in his natural state – but he should have the ability to use the same attacks as his father, so long as a human can learn them. If he has not demonstrated any ability of the sort, then there would be no way to know of his father's true nature – at least, until he returned to his true form."

"So, wait a second," Pikachu cut in. "You're saying that Ash's father is a Pokémon from this world. He traveled from this world to ours and saw Ash's mother. He fell in love and disguised himself as a human… but no one ever noticed anything odd about him?"

"That is correct," Noctowl said plainly, causing Pikachu to fall to the ground. "However, I would imagine that his wife realized his true nature before long, and was embarrassed enough to hide you from it. Then again, she could have also been protecting you from people who would find a Pokémon and human hybrid interesting and would want to capture you for the sake of curiosity."

"Capture me?" Ash screamed, grabbing onto Pikachu tightly.

"Yes… I am sure that you could be of most interest to some of the professors living in that world. Why, with the powers of Pokémon, people would be able to stand up to illnesses and fractures far better. They would be able to live longer lives. They could harness strange powers – but that could take a while to perfect. The point is… your father was a Pokémon from this world. And that… is why you are in great danger."

"Danger?" Pikachu shouted, throwing herself in front of her trainer, cheeks sparking. "You won't hurt him!"

"It is not my intent," Noctowl informed her. "However, there are those out there who are convinced that those who are convinced that one who is… of both worlds, as it were… is a threat to the existence of both. There is a certain risk associated with lingering in a world other than your own – many people become drunk on the wonders of that other world, so that they forget about the importance of the people they left behind in the other. Then there is the way that some of them become too greedy, and wish to have both at the same time, when they must be kept separate for their own sake…"

"I just want to go home," Ash said sadly. Pikachu glared at Riolu.

"You're the reason we got here in the first place! If you hadn't shown up, we wouldn't have ended up here!" Riolu's fur bristled – his eyes seemed to glow crimson with anger.

"You didn't have to follow me!" he snapped. "If you kept that human on a leash, then I wouldn't be in any danger of being captured!"

"Hey!" Ash yelled.

"All of you, stop." Noctowl swept down from his perch, landing in the center of the room, in between the two fighting sanctions. "Fighting will solve nothing. The three of you must work together to get back to that human world. If you do not get there soon… I guarantee that things will be bad. All of you must go see Mew. She will be able to send you back."

"I don't want to go with them!" Riolu protested. "I have to take these herbs to Master Grovyle! I can't spend time with a smelly human and his Pikachu servant!"

"I will take those off your hands," Noctowl said icily, swiping the herbs off of the floor. "You will rest assured that I will take them to Grovyle while you escort these two to Mew's castle. You will go as quickly as possible, and without any detours. No matter what you may think, I am not as feeble as I look. I have informants all over the country, and I will see if you do anything wrong."

Riolu growled and picked himself up off the floor, shuffling away from the others with a hateful look in his eyes. Pikachu could already tell that she would probably try to throw the fighting-type off a cliff by the time they were halfway through their journey.

"You should get there before nightfall, easily," Noctowl informed them. "Three hours should do it. Well? Get going! You have a long way to walk!"

Riolu didn't need to be told twice. He jerked open the door, walked out, and slammed it behind him. Ash and Pikachu looked back at Noctowl before following him out.

The moment they left, the computer behind Noctowl hummed to life, and the Flying-type smirked. "Is this the boy, Geo?"

The image cleared to reveal a young, pleasant-looking Jolteon dressed in something remarkably similar to a business suit. "Indeed. Excellent work, Agent Beta. It seems as though the time is fast approaching me to meet him at last."

"He'll pass through the canyon by two."

A wide grin crossed the Jolteon's face. "Excellent."


	6. Chapter 6

"Pikachu! Hey! Look at this!" Ash enthusiastically chirped, waving a tiny yellow paw in the direction of one of the city's buildings. While almost all of the buildings were made of yellow stone, this one was made of a dark grey sort. Water pooled at an enormous basin at the top and slowly trickled down the sides in a many-tiered structure, a huge fountain built right into the building. Pikachu laughed nervously. This was the seventh time – at least – that Ash had pointed out another interesting building. All that she wanted to do was find Mew so she could get Ash back home where he belonged.

…well, that wasn't entirely the truth. She'd actually love to play with him more, teach him how to use Thunderbolt properly, teach him how roast berries…

No! She couldn't think like that! Ash was a human! Not a Pikachu!

…but if what Noctowl said was true, then he wasn't _completely _human… but Noctowl…

Noctowl! There was something about the Flying-type that was completely wrong! Pikachu struggled to think of it, but nothing would come to mind. She thought of everything, his house, the city, his feathers… but nothing was off.

"Are you coming or not?" Riolu snapped. The Fighting-type Pokémon had dashed in front of them in his usual haste, but the two Pikachu had given up on following him. Neither of them had any real desire to follow someone like him now that they were safely inside a big city with tons of other Pokémon to help them if needed. As she looked at the blue Pokémon's red eyes, Pikachu felt something click in her mind.

Noctowl… he was supposed to be incredibly wise. But the way Riolu had acted when he found out that Ash was actually a human – there was something about his actions. He was surprised, but he almost seemed to know what had happened. Had Riolu known about the fact that Ash must have been half-Pokémon too? But then why had he brought them to Noctowl? Noctowl… he was hiding something. Pikachu was sure of it. He walked not with the gentle, rhythmic strides of a scholar, but with the air of someone who was surveying prey. Looking back on it, Pikachu wondered how she had managed to stay in that house for as long as she did. Noctowl… it was almost as though he were thinking of having two Pikachu for his next meal when he was watching them.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out again. Expecting another overly excited rant about an interested building, Pikachu looked up slowly, with her mind still churning over desperately. However, when she caught sight of her trainer's face, she knew that not everything was all right. The boy wore a look of terror on his face – something, which Pikachu realized with a jolt, she had been seeing far too often on this strange day.

"What's the matter Ash? Is something wrong? I'll protect you!" Before he could say another word, she dashed over to his side, cheeks sparking in anticipation of an attack.

"Riolu's gone!" Ash gasped, pointing down a side alley. "He ran over there, but he disappeared when he got into the alleyway!"

Pikachu growled, enraged. "The little jerk gave us the slip," she realized. "He's abandoned us in order to go do something else! He was the one that was going to lead us to Mew! How are we going to get home now?"

"Pikachu, it's okay," Ash said quietly, trying to get her to calm down. "We'll find Mew somehow. We just need to find someone else who knows where she is!" Pikachu sniffed – Ash suddenly realized that tears were gathering in the corners of her eyes. "Pikachu!" he squealed, horrified. "Please don't cry! It's okay, we'll find Mew." Without really knowing how it happened, Ash found himself brushing his tail against Pikachu's. A smile came across her face, and she wiped away the tears.

"You're right. We should just lay low in the city for a little while. We need to find Mew, but it's best if we wait for a little bit." Noticing his look of confusion, she added, "There's something strange going on. Don't say a thing about being a human. I think you'll be able to pass off as a Pokémon as long as you act like one." He still looked confused, but there was something mischievous in his eyes.

"Pretend to be a normal Pokémon?" Ash giggled. "I used to pretend to be a Pokémon when I was little… I could probably do it again if I tried. But… what are we going to do about Riolu?"

"Forget him. We'll go find a hotel or something to stay at – I don't think the Pokémon use money, so we could probably work somewhere for a room. We just need to stay out of trouble – we can't bring unneeded attention to ourselves." Ash nodded obediently. Pikachu was surprised that he had listened to the whole thing. There was something about the way he was looking at her that made her slightly nervous.

"Well… let's go look around town, okay?" he nodded and trotted after her. She couldn't help but notice that he stayed awfully close to her side…

Indeed, as the duo walked through the city, Ash stayed right next to Pikachu, sometimes getting so close that they would brush up against one another. There was something about it that was strangely nice… Ash was just starting to realize that Pikachu had very nice, soft fur and it was a nice color and she was just the right size for him to hug and they could go out and explore together and…


	7. Chapter 7

"Kangaskhan! Open the door!" Pikachu held Ash back as the boy fidgeted uncomfortably, looking as though he were going to dash into the building through one of the windows before the door could be opened. When the enormous Normal-type Pokémon finally pushed open the huge wooden door, Ash wasted no time in dashing inside. Pikachu growled as she hauled that day's findings into the room all by herself.

The two of them had been living with Kangaskhan for almost two weeks now. The motherly Pokémon had found them on the streets on the very first day they had arrived in the city, and immediately took them in. However, she wasn't giving them free room and board. The two Pikachu were expected to go out every day and search the nearby forests and fields for rare stones, which were worth enough money to support them. Of course, Pikachu was the one who did most of the work. Ash ended up chasing after other Pokémon living in the fields most of the time.

For the most part… nothing screaming "danger!" had occurred. Noctowl had disappeared mysteriously, confirming Pikachu's suspicions that something was most definitely off about the Pokémon, but she hadn't seen any sign of him since that day they left his house. Then again, there were so many Pokémon in the city, hiding wouldn't be that difficult.

As though reading her mind, Ash poked his head out of the bedroom door, looking at Pikachu curiously. "Hey, Pikachu… do you think that someone's still looking for us?"

Kangaskhan snorted from the kitchen, where she was mashing berries into a paste for her joey. "You two, there's nothing after you. If there was, I would have surely seen them by now. I know everyone who lives around these parts, and I haven't seen suspicious characters in weeks!"

"Have you seen Noctowl around?" Ash asked in his usual, rash way.

"Noctowl?" Kangaskhan asked in her normal, motherly way. "No, I can't say that I have. From what I've heard, a Flareon and a Vaporeon led him away to some place to the northeast. No one knows who they were."

Pikachu bit her lip. She darted over to Ash, dragged him into the room, and put a finger to her mouth to signal him to be quiet. "Noctowl is part of some sort of group. They want to capture you, but I don't know why."

"Huh?" Ash asked a bit too loudly. After Pikachu hissed at him to be quiet, he added, in a softer tone, "A group? What kind of group? How do you know?"

"I've been thinking about Noctowl ever since we got here. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, until Kangaskhan mentioned the other Pokémon coming to get him. That's when I remembered. I could see his room in my mind, and I remembered the TV in the middle of the room. There was a camera on it – I could see the light blinking. Ash, he was videotaping us the entire time! He must have been taping it so the other members of that group could see us!"

Ash looked skeptical. "Are you sure you aren't just remembering things wrong?"

"I'm sure of it!" Pikachu hissed. "There was a camera! Any of the Pokémon in the city could be a spy for them."

Neither of them said anything as they looked in the direction of the kitchen.

"You don't think-!"

"No, Kangaskhan would have taken us to them by now if she were working with them. But, all the same, I don't think we can stay here anymore. Noctowl disappeared three days ago. That's three days for the weird group of Pokémon to come and attempt capturing us. They haven't found us yet, but I don't want to place any bets on them not coming later and nabbing us. Who knows how close they are right now?"

"…we need to find Mew," Ash said simply. Pikachu was a bit stunned. It was something so simple, but it made more sense than any of the crazy ideas running through her head. The only problem… they had no idea of where to look.

"We could ask Kangaskhan…" Pikachu though out loud. "And if that doesn't work… hey, Ash?" He didn't answer, just stared into space. "What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Pikachu suddenly felt something cold on the back of her neck and spun around, only to come face-to-face with something yellow, with a smaller silver thing dangling in front.

"Them…" she thought just before she hit the ground.

* * *

"They're all there? The ones who were supposed to have come from the other word?"

"Yep. Hypno grabbed the first two, and Haunter took care of the rest. Seems like they've all forgotten how they got here in the first place – amnesia – except for those first two. But then again, that's to be expected."

The two Pokémon – Flareon and Vaporeon – laughed harshly, in a strange barking manner that would have made any admirer of their species shiver in horror. They looked like completely normal Pokémon until you saw their eyes – instead of being pitch black, they were a lighter, purple sort of color.

"The two of you, stop that racket!" The two Eeveelutions stopped at once, sitting down obediently, just like a Growlithe would when instructed by a human master. A yellow figure walked out of the slate castle, onto the battlements with the guards. As it continued into the light, it revealed itself to be a Jolteon – a Jolteon with a dark black suit on. There was always a way to tell if someone in this world was actually a human – something about their eyes. This Jolteon was undoubtedly a human. "I've reported to Master Lucario – he has confirmed that this is the boy."

The others wagged their tailed in spite of themselves. This time, the Jolteon ignored them.

"Yes…" he purred. "That boy… he is… Master's son… I have waited for the day… when I could see such a thing…." He chuckled darkly. "He will listen to us, of course… I daresay he wouldn't want to risk harm to his friends, no?"

Before they could question him on what he meant, the two Eeveelutions heard the sound of the gate going down. As they bent over the wall, they could make out three figures in the dark – a Psyduck, a Vulpix, and an Umbreon.

Jolteon sank back into the shadows. The last thing to be seen was his vicious sgrin.


	8. Chapter 8

When Ash woke up, the first thing he noticed was that he was in some sort of bed. It was soft and plushy, with a blue bedspread. The room he was in looked strangely small, but she quickly realized that it was actually the perfect size in relation to his currently tiny body – it was the first time in at least a month that he had been in a room that was the right size for him – Kangaskhan's entire house was enormous to the two Pikachu.

The second thing he noticed was that the room itself contained not only a bed, but a TV, a wardrobe, a writing desk and chair, and an attached bathroom. The walls were painted green, and the floor was covered in a thick emerald carpet. Wherever he was, it sure wasn't some kind of prison. So… where was he? Most importantly, where was Pikachu? She wasn't in the room with him!

Panicking, Ash ran over to the room's only window. When he looked outside, all feelings of everything possibly being okay left his mind. Although the clock on the wall said that it was the middle of the day, outside was pitch black, with creepy red and purple streaks in the sky. Wherever this room was, it was in a building overlooking a cliff, as there were ten feet stretching from the cliff's face to the room. The room was on the ground floor – but somehow, that just made things worse. Ghost-types of all shapes and sizes floated in the dark sky, none of them daring to look at the building Ash was currently trapped in.

A knock at the door caused the boy to whirl around, his heart pounding. Without waiting for a response, the door was slammed open and a Clefable ran into the room. "You are the boy, right, yes? You have been ordered to report to Master Lucario at once. There is something with which he would like to speak with you." Before he could protest, the Clefable grabbed Ash by the tail and began to pull him out the door.

"Where are we?" Ash gasped out, yanking his tail away, but still following the Normal-type. "What happened to Pikachu?"

"The rest of your friends are waiting for you in the dining hall," Clefable informed him in a monotone. "That is where Master Lucario is as well. There are matters which he would like to discuss with you. Important manners." Something about the way Clefable emphasized 'important' sent shivers down Ash's spine.

"Where are we?" he repeated.

"We are at Master Lucario's fortress in the Dark Realm at the boundary between the two worlds. He will explain more thoroughly. Please, go in." The Clefable stopped in front of an enormous wooden door with mysterious designs engraved into it. Ash could have sworn that he saw a picture of himself on it, but before he could get a closer look, a Vaporeon and a Flareon pushed the doors open, beckoning him inside.

The dining room was dark, lit only by candles, but there was still enough light to make out everything he needed to see to drive Ash into a state of terror. First, there was a huge table in the middle of the room, with place settings for at least twenty people. Secondly, about half of these were occupied by some sort of Pokémon already. Third, as soon as he walked in, a Psyduck, Umbreon, Vulpix, and two Pikachu looked over at him, fear obvious in their eyes. Ash recognized his own Pikachu immediately, but soon realized just who the other Pokémon were as well – Misty? Brock? Gary? But-!

Fourth, sitting next to the other Pikachu, A Lucario leered at him.

And Ash knew who it was immediately.

"You!" he growled.

Lucario laughed. "You," he said calmly. "I've been waiting to see you for years, and it looks like you've just happened to stumble across my castle. Hmmm. You do look like her, I think. Of course, I haven't seen your mother in years – not since she kicked me out onto the street." He laughed at Ash's look of shock. "Oh yes… it seems that learning the man she had married was actually a Pokémon was just too much of a shock for the woman to bear. Such a shame, really. She was wonderful…"

"Ash!" Pikachu squealed from her seat. "He's been sending his servants over to our world and kidnapping your friends!"

"Kidnapping?" Lucario asked. "That's a bit of a harsh word to use. After all, they all seemed to come of their own free will to this place. I simply told them that you were here, and they agreed to follow my friends to the castle. Even this one." Lucario waved a paw in the Umbreon's direction. "This is your rival, no? He couldn't bear the thought of having to put up with someone else as a rival – he thought they'd be far too weak. And this one…" Lucario pointed to the second Pikachu that Ash couldn't recognize. "He remembered you, even if you couldn't remember him. He lived at Professor Oak's laboratory for years, but was far too powerful to be given out to rookie trainers like your own Pikachu. He was the one who trained Pikachu before you met her. All of them… they came to help you and her. Now, doesn't that make you feel bad?"

Ash couldn't answer. He was shaking in a mixture of fear and anger, his eyes never leaving Pikachu.

"Now, it seems quite silly that we can never see the people we love in the other world. If we cannot go to meet each other, then how would we ever know that the other was okay? After all, I have not been able to see your mother for almost four years. Hmmm. Do you think that, perhaps, Mew was wrong in separating the two worlds so completely? After all, this place is on the border of the two. It does not seem so bad, no?"

Were he not so terrified, Ash might have laughed at the fact that Lucario could possibly say such a thing when the world outside the castle was dark and terrifying.

Lucario smiled and pulled out the seat on the other side of his chair. "Sit, Ash. There are things we must discuss." In spite of his terror, Ash jumped into the chair. Why? Because in all honesty, there was nothing else for him to do.

With a grin, Lucario handed Ash a roll of paper. "What's this?" he asked quietly.

"That, my dear," Lucario cooed, sending shiver's up Ash's spine, "Is how you are going to bring Mew to me."


	9. Chapter 9

"Capture… Mew?" Ash said in a shuddering voice.

"Once she is brought to me, she will have no choice but to assist me in my goal of bringing the the two worlds together. Her powers are able to bend reality, to a far greater extent than mine or my assistants. Once the two worlds merge, it will be like the golden age of prosperity once again! But, the only way I can achieve this is with assistance from a certain son of mine…"

"I won't help you!" Ash snapped. "You aren't going to mess with the two worlds just for your own greedy purposes! You just want Mom to accept you! Well, guess what? She won't! She didn't kick you out because you're a Pokémon; she kicked you out because you're a greedy liar!"

Lucario drummed his fingers on the table in an expression of complete disinterest. "My, my, I never was this fiery. You must get this from your mother. Hmmm. If you will not agree to help me, then perhaps your friends could help you. Haven't you wondered why they've kept so quiet?" Lucario pulled something out of a pouch that hung around his waist. Three tiny circular devices, held to a length of chain by a silver clasp. "These necklaces are for more than just decoration. As of right now, they contain the memories of your dearest friends." Lucario turned one around in his hands. "It would be such a shame for one of them to shatter…"

Ash felt tears well up in his eyes as he looked across the table at the three Pokémon in front of him. They looked at him with a mixture of fear and confusion. Ash would have liked it if he was able to convince himself that those Pokémon weren't really his friends, it was just a trick, but he knew that wasn't the case. He could see it in their eyes.

"If you look at the document," Lucario pushed, "you will see that there is a device in this castle – in this very room, in fact – and the combination of you, a being of both worlds, and the device, a machine in both worlds, will summon Mew to this room, where she will be trapped. I can see in your eyes that you would struggle if I tried to force you to activate the machine, so I took a few precautions." He leaned in closer. "As I said, it's in this very room."

Ash yelped in terror as the floor of the room began to turn like an enormous gear in a clock. Before he knew what was happening, a brilliant light pierced the center of the room, snapping the table in half and sending the place settings crashing to the floor. The entire room _was_ the machine!

The light began to spin around itself, sending streaks of lightning arching towards the ceiling. All of the room's inhabitants ran to the side of the room, eyes wide with fright. Only Lucario and Ash stayed in their seats – Lucario to watch the show unfolding, and Ash because he found himself unable to move from the seat.

Then, with a blinding flash of pink light, Mew appeared in the center of the room. She was held down by deep purple chains, and looked as though her power was being drained right into the machine itself. Ash watched helplessly as Mew was levitated over to Lucario's seat, where he licked his lips like a Houndour waiting for food.

"Let her go!" Ash gasped out, suddenly finding the energy to speak. Lucario ignored him, staring at Mew intently with his crimson eyes.

"Yes, you are mine…"

"I am no one's." The voice spoke in everyone's mind as clearly as if they had thought it themselves. Mew struggled against the chains, pain obvious in her eyes. "I am free. I am not bound to any human or Pokémon. I am a legend – a Pokémon that was only supposed to be seen by a select few people with pure hearts. How dare you think you have the authority to bring me here to this world you have created with power stolen from the gods!"

Lucario opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a single word out, a Water Gun blasted him full force in the snout. It was quickly followed by a Shadow Ball, Flamethrower, and double Thunderbolt. The other Pokémon had started fighting Lucario! Temporarily forgetting about Mew, Lucario jumped out of his seat in rage, forming some sort of strange blue energy in his paws.

Without really knowing what he was doing, Ash jumped out of his chair onto the table, clambered up onto the table, and gulped. He hadn't practiced this very much, and he wasn't confident in his abilities, but Mew needed someone…

He concentrated on the chains and sent out a Thunder attack.

Mew winced as the attack washed over her, but seemed mostly unharmed. The chains glowed with a brilliant blue light before dissolving like sugar in water. Mew fell to the table with a dull thump, headfirst. At first, Ash thought that she had passed out from the strain of the machine.

Then her eyes began to glow.

Lucario, who was in the middle of attempting to kick Gary in the face with a flaming foot, suddenly stopped. Without warning, he was sent flying across the room, landing in front of a huge bookcase. Before anyone realized what was happening, Mew gathered a ball of pink light in her paws and aimed it straight at the Fighting-type. Lucario dashed at her, a mad look in his eyes…

And then she released the attack.

The resulting explosion released a huge cloud of dust and smoke, causing all of the others in the room to close their eyes and cover their ears. When the smoke cleared, a very lifelike stone state of a Lucario stood at the other end of the room.

"It is done," Mew said simply. "The worlds must be kept separate from the other, or there will be a terrible price to pay."

Ash suddenly realized that everything around him was fading, turning white, with the exception of Mew and Pikachu. "Hey!" he shouted. "What's going on?"

"You must return to your own world," Mew explained. "Things will go back to the way they were…

"And it will all be as if it were just a dream…"


	10. Chapter 10

"W-wait!" Ash gasped. "What's going on? I don't understand! Why did I end up here in the first place! What are you going to do with him?" By "him," he meant "Lucario" – and maybe "Dad" but not even Mew could tell.

Mew frowned. "Well… you want to go back to your world, of course. You have something that you've pledged to do. Ho-oh told me that she saw the entire thing. You can't stay here if it means giving up on what you've promised to do."

"That's not fair!" Pikachu cried out. "We only got to stay here for a couple of weeks! Why do we have to go back so soon?" Something twinkled in Mew's eyes.

"Don't worry, Pikachu. Someday you'll be able to teach him Thunderbolt properly like you wanted to. Someday… I think you'll make it back here, and maybe stay a little bit longer than last time. But… for the time being… there are things in your world that need to be taken care of." She turned to look at Ash again. "I'm sure that all of your friends are waiting for you back there. They won't remember any of it, but… I think that someday, it just might come back to them. But until that day comes…"

The light slowly faded to reveal a clearing in the middle of a forest. Now, there were plenty of clearings in the middle of forests in the Pokémon world, but this one was different from the others. Why? Because a few feet away, the portal leading to the strange other world stood at the base of a huge tree.

"We're back…" Ash said quietly as the world began to become more real. "But… hey! I'm still a Pikachu!" Mew giggled, while Pikachu blushed. "Oh no… please tell me I'm not stuck like this forever… how will I be able to be a trainer this way…" His rambling was cut short as something warm and fuzzy jumped on top of him. "Pikachu!" he shouted as she licked his ear.

"You know, I never did tell you…" she started. "…but you are very cute."

Mew giggled happily, pulling a camera out of thin air and aiming it at the two. As Pikachu happily hugged her trainer and Ash blushed so much, he looked more like a Flareon than a Pikachu, Mew snapped a picture of the two. The flash seemed to last for a few seconds longer than usual…

And when the light cleared, Pikachu was sitting in the lap of a very much human (and thankfully clothed) trainer.

"Huh?" Ash asked in his usual oblivious manner. "Hey! I'm back to myself again!" Scooping Pikachu up into his arms, he clambered onto his feet. Pikachu allowed herself a single sigh before deciding to be happy for her trainer.

"I guess you're still cute," she told him. Of course, a few seconds later, she realized that he couldn't understand her now, but he seemed to get the idea anyway as his face turned bright red again.

"Both of you!" Mew said, speaking into their minds. "I'll send you back to your friends now. Just… well, I'll keep your memories of this for now. It's for the best…" Noticing both of their downcast looks, she added, "I'll give them back someday! But for now… there's one more thing I have to tell you, and I won't take this part away… something dangerous is headed your way… and so… be careful, right?"

Mew giggled, did a backflip in the air, and the world around them began to glow with a bright light again…

* * *

The Onix fell to the ground, defeated with a single Thunderbolt. Misty was beyond complaining by this point. Pikachu looked proud as Ash cheered her on like usual.

It had been the same thing for months now. Nothing of interest had happened. That was, until today…

"We should reach the next city by dusk," Brock read off the map. "And there's supposed to be a gym…"

He had said the magic word. Ash and Pikachu took off through the woods without even bothering to clean up the camp. Misty shouted after them for a good five minutes, even though they would eventually come back for breakfast anyway.

In the branches of a nearby tree, a tiny, pink creature smiled.


End file.
